Keeping The Edge: How The Big 12's Edge Mismatch Will Dictate The Season

Fun read.

I don’t think you’ve overstated the point one bit. In fact you might have understated it as it relates to teams with depth like Texas and OU. Late in games, fresh athletic freaks like Okafor and Acho uno ocho or King and Jackson are going to be facing fatigued 300 pound dudes that have just had their heads kicked in by the starters.

And as the season wears on, injury attrition is going to guarantee the chasm between talented defensive ends and adequate offensive tackles widens.

Thanks for the read.

It also bodes well for the corners, especially in a league that just lost Bryant, Shipley, and Briscoe.

I think they should move Sam Acho inside with Kheeston Randall and let Eddie Jones and Alex Okafor play on the outside. Calvin Howell can rotate with the two inside guys and Dravannti Johnson, Jackson Jeffcoat, and Reggie Wilson can sub with the outside guys.
It sucks Derek Johnson left the team. He was a big strong dude(anchor type). I guessed he missssed his mommy back in Arkansas.

I also would like to see Kenny Vaccarro and Christian Scott be the staring safeties. Talk about bringing the pain and intimidation to opposing offenses.

“Several teams in the league lost QBs because they exposed them to hits playing wide-open schemes in which one trades quarterback abuse for the chance to either use him as a running weapon with "even numbers" or to put more wide receivers into the route. Texas is first among the guilty, but everyone offended. My guess is that we’ll see offenses protecting their QBs more, running the ball, taking their shots with play action and protection, and generally playing a more conservative brand of football. Passing isn’t going away, and this won’t become the SEC, but five receivers routes aren’t going to the norm any more. And if you see 5 wide, it’s a screen.”

HP Slugga just felt a chill go up his spine

Trips –
 
Thanks. It’s just something I noticed and I’m not sure I’ve seen such a glaring inequity in a while, at least from a macro perspective.
 
If some Offensive Coordinators don’t change their approaches, last year’s QB injury-fest will be repeated.
 
magnus -
 
Agreed. That’s the next post. The problem is that the only two teams with elite corners who can exploit that are Texas and Nebraska. OU and Missouri will have competent corner play. The rest of the league? Bad to average.
 
While everyone else is focused on skill position masturbation and bullshit, we should be looking at where the real imbalances are.
 
What teams can roll out real corners, real defensive ends?
 
Roland -
 
We’ll see some of that. The question is whether Acho could hold up all game against a sustained running game.
 
Derek never really understood that there was a bigger world available to him if he wanted to find it. I wish him luck, but he’ll regret some of his choices from age 17-19.
 
Vaccaro and Scott is your most talented duo, but we’re married to Gideon as a defensive playcaller and Vaccaro needs to prove he can be trusted.

Eskimo –
 
Ha.
 
The three WR set with a TE will be the Big 12’s new black. Not exactly the wishbone, but some DEs are going to need to be chipped.

24, 17, 17. If Jesus could guarantee you those #‘s for Texas’ offense against respectively Tech, OU, and Nebraska, would you wager a grand on each game right now?

I would. And a big part of the reason is I think our defense is going to dominate Big 12 offenses this year and your post just laid out the biggest reason why.

It would also be interesting to read your thoughts vis a vis WR’s around the league against DB’s. I like ours against all comers, including A&M and OU and especially Nebraska. I don’t know enough about the leagues other groupings to opine overall like you just did.

beowulf -
 
Traditionally, Jesus has only offered me perfectly manicured gardening and efficient lawn care.
 
However, if my groundskeeper could offer those point totals, I believe we’re guaranteed 2-1 with a 55-45 shot at 3-0.
 
So, yes. I take that bet.
 
However, Greg Davis can only offer me 24, 13, 14, so I have a hint of trepidation.
 
I mention my take on cornerbacks to magnus above – I will write a full post about it later.

I agree it will be the year of the D in the Big 12. But I also think you have to look at the loss of QB talent and experience. When a league is filled with senior QBs and future NFLers offenses will rule. When they’re lacking, defenses will take over. 07-09 you had Colt, Bradford, Reesing, Chase Daniel. All gone now. Lot of teams breaking in new QBs (Okie St) or the ones with veterans just suck (Nebraska)

You’re totally discounting JJ for the Ags, Hormatic. Heisman, baby

Shuttlesworth, scipio. Not Jaysus. I saw Jaysus here at the clinic 2 times this a.m. and thrice this afternoon. He’s everywhere in the Valley.

I recall being mocked in my Von Miller assessment last year. I saw the other day where he’s projected to be the #4 pick in the draft next year. The Okung tape must have made the rounds.

Hornmatic -
 
I don’t disagree. And that’s fairly standard analysis covered by the average preview magazine. A new era of Big 12 QBs.
 
However, I’m suggesting that this is an even more gross disparity.
 
QB play is as much a consequence of good offense as a creator of it.
 
How did Colt McCoy perform against OU and NU when we couldn’t protect him? Mind you, the most experienced QB in Longhorn history?
 
I will allow you a choice between the adjectives miserable, gruesome, and shitty.
 
If you can protect an average QB, he’ll outperform a stud facing a jailbreak.

ded -
 
I didn’t mock you, you slight-counting West Texas ne’er do well.

I’ll be honest. I mocked you last year for saying he would go ahead of Kindle. If he left he might have, due to Kindle’s unforseen slide.

Great player, but he’s not going top five this year.

dedfischer -
 
Talk to me about Duncan. Are you as surprised as I am that he has a knack for rushing the passer?

Great post. I’d like to hear your quality LT guys. I would have Nate Solder, maybe Hix (against the run hes good, against the edge…), Mizzou’s guy, maybe Tech’s guy, that’s about it. I’d like to believe that Texas has some prospects here with Kelly and Walters and am forced to concede that A&M has talent on both ends.

I noticed in doing my offensive ranking that a lot of teams are returning talent on the OL, just not on the edge. The teams that can adjust to the realities of the league will excel, the rest will fall by the wayside. Running inside against this league’s tackles and backers and hitting these corners.

And given the talent at corner from a lot of teams, who wouldn’t go 5-wide just to throw a screen? Missouri did that last year and nearly drove Muschamp insane. I can’t imagine what that would do to a defense like, say, A&M’s.

Nickel -
 
Thanks. The problem is even gaining some agreement on who the half dozen are. There would no disagreement on the Top 8-10 DEs in he league.

Which is telling.
  
Solder – CU – great physical specs and improved late, but not a complete player at all. People are fascinated by his potential more than anything
Hix – UT – we know him – I think he’s solid
Hawkinson – KU – young and talented, but young
Brandon – OU – grew under fire last year
Hoch – Mizzou – competent, nothing special
Fisher – Mizzou – comptent, nothing special
 
I would also keep an eye on Terry McDaniel from Tech, Ivory Wade from Baylor, Osemele from Iowa State. It’s bleak though.

17 against Nebraska is about as sure a thing as you’ll ever see.

I wouldn’t take the24 against tech until I see what they role out on the field. If it’s anything like the Tuberville I’ve seen in the past, 24 against tech is almost a good of a deal as 17 against UNL. I suspect there is still to much offensive talent for Tubs to screw it up so soon though.

17 against OU is looking a lot like a sister kisser.

I had an idea for a column about Texas’ potential weakness against edge rushers and which teams would present problems there on the schedule. I think this wraps it up pretty well and better than I would have done for my lack of knowledge about the conference talent outside of the Big 12 south.

Big 12 teams have all caught on to the surest way to stop these wide-open passing attacks. Dallas actually modeled the key last year in the NFL.
DeMarcus Ware on the edge and Jay Ratliff up the middle was enough to thwart even the Saints spread attack. Defensive quality is generally more about having talent than is the case on offense where clever scheme and solid execution can go a long ways.
Defenses are figuring out where that talent needs to be concentrated and what it needs to look like.

The great thing is that Texas will be having this huge advantage on the edge for years to come.

Good piece, Scipio.

I’m also personally nervous about the damage UCLA’s Datone Jones is capable of doing. Leaving Hix or Mitchell one-on-one with him would be disastrous.

Elegant, persuasive analysis.

I’ve wondered for a long time why the big huge OT should be expected to stay in front of modern ultra quick/explosive DEs. You pretty much have to have a TE or back chip block the DE for the OT to have a chance to dependably get in front of the DE.

Dump passes are going to be more important this season as TEs, TBs, and H backs initially block pass rushers and then release to catch very short relief valve passes. This is one area where Gilbert might be significantly better than Colt.

Sounds like Mack featuring both an H back and a TE is a step in the right direction.

Scipio, regarding Duncan, I was pleasantly surprised at his effectiveness in the spring. He’s a pure football player that measurables don’t do justice. He understands leverage like T. Boone.

Keep an eye on Sam Fehoko as well. I don’t think anyone on the Tech roster will benefit from the 3-4 switch as much as him.

 Whitlock is a known entity and the premium interior DL in the league with Crick. Myles Wade is extremely talented and he’ll be a significant contributor by default, but didn’t play much last year and sat out the spring game. I could see him taking over the nose tackle position given his size and strength with Whitlock moving to the 3-tech position. Donald Langley played as a true freshman at Tennessee, so I’m counting him as a lock to start. He’s not a difference maker, but he’s solid. I’m predicting those 3 will receive the bulk of the interior snaps. The wildcard could be the JUCO guy, Scott Smith, although I’m always skeptical of guys with that long of a story. Kerry Hyder, Andrey Barr and Pearlie Graves didn’t do much to impress me, although Barr has a lot of talent if he decides he wants it bad enough. I’ve heard Willis rode his ass pretty hard this offseason after showing glimpses of taking over.

I see our defense as a middle of the pack type unit with a playmaker at each level in Whitlock, Duncan and Ford. Our fate will be determined in how the role players turn out. D.J. Johnson intrigues me as a true cover guy, but he’s weak against the run. We’re going to miss guys like Richard Jones and Jamar Wall. I could also see our secondary giving up some big plays. My biggest concern is stopping playaction on first and second downs.

1. I agree overall.
2. OU goes like 5 deep at the position (Beal, Alexander, Macon, King, Washington).
3. The conference loses some top flight DT play (UT, OU, Neb) this year. How do you thing that will impact the way teams can attack the DE’s?

“…Missouri’s best sack threat since William Quantrill.” Nice.

I always thought that Missouri should have named their team the Bushwhackers to counterbalance their rival’s Jayhawks.

Interesting article. It would seem that the holes of the two teams that we have to beat will be between the tackles. With all of our talk of going to a two back/TE more traditional power running game, it makes you wonder. Chicken or egg? Or just pure coincidence? Regardless, it seems serendipidous.

Excellent article…more insight than normally offered on any level.

Sometimes a great back makes the OL look good. Sometimes it’s the other way around. We really need Brown AND Green. Green looks just a little like Eric Metcalf on game tape and has break away speed that we haven’t seen since Jamal. He took it to the house with the slightest cracks available because of it.

Christine may be the only back in the league (outside a healthy DeMarco Murray) that can pave his own way with enough mix of strength, speed and elusiveness. Granted he will have other threats on his side that defenses will have to game plan.

Here’s the last known picture of a healthy DeMarco Murray:

Looks just like Fozzy Whitaker to me

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